The long-awaited day is finally here. Heroes of Fortunia's newest update: Version 0.7.0 has now entered public testing, and you may start playing NOW! Continue reading for instructions on how to participate.
What is the purpose of this test version?
Since publishing the 0.6.0 survey near the end of 2019, we've taken early 2020 to evaluate all the feedback that was gathered from that, as well as through other channels such as Discord, the community forums, and the in-game feedback form. We've spent the remainder of 2020 up until now conceptualizing a complete relaunch of Heroes of Fortunia.
With pre-production having wrapped up in May this year, development went underway quickly, but in order to speed the process up, we've decided to open up Heroes of Fortunia's development builds for public testing. The reason behind this is two-fold:
It allows us to offload highly time-consuming tasks, such as testing, to the players.
It provides players the opportunity to experience the development process of the game first-hand, without wait times for announcements or teasers.
Why not just use Early Access for this testing phase?
We aim to have the "Early Access" version of Heroes of Fortunia act like a production build. Before publishing a new update, the game build has to go through various stages of testing in order to ensure it is ready for public distribution. This is especially important as it includes micro-transactions, and shipping an incomplete or buggy product while at the same time asking users to pay for it doesn't feel right.
The test version only sees the most basic of QA, that is making sure things "work", but not making sure things are robust, or don't interfere with other features. The bulk of QA is thus offloaded to the participants, which allows us to focus entirely on developing new features and speeds up development tremendously.
We're aiming to fully release Heroes of Fortunia (no more Early Access) early 2021, all the while completely rebuilding the game, so in order to meet this admittedly ambitious goal, this is the best option for us.
What will await you in this test version?
It is important to note that the test version is not a complete game. Features will be missing, broken, or might even crash the game. We thus won't be accepting any feedback on features anymore, but rather limit player feedback to bug reports only.
As everything is currently being reworked, the test version will initially feel a bit more similar to Heroes of Fortunia's very first Early Access version, albeit with all heroes and components still present.
You can expect constant updates to the test version, sometimes even multiple times a day. However, the game will not inform you of a new version when you connect to the server, so you need to make sure to manually keep it up to date via Steam, or make sure your auto-update is working correctly. We won't be making announcements every time we publish a new test version, as the process is largely automated on our end, meaning whenever we finish working on a new feature, it'll be live on Steam roughly 30 minutes afterwards.
How to participate?
Taking part in Heroes of Fortunia's public testing is very straightforward. Follow this guide in order to do so:
Right-click Heroes of Fortunia in your Steam library and select "Properties"
Select the "Betas" tab at the top
Click on the select box below "Select the beta you would like to opt into"
Select "testing - Public testing branch"
Close the window
If you are attempting to participate right after this post was published, the branch may not yet be visible to you. Try restarting your Steam client or wait a few minutes.
Here are some screenshots to help you find the way:
You will then notice Steam starting to download the test build. You can switch back to the production version of the game at any time, by following the same process outlined above, but instead of selecting the testing branch, you will select "NONE".
NOTE: Steam only keeps one copy of the game on your local hard disk, so switching between production and testing frequently means you will have to re-download parts of the game also.
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Thank you for participating in the Heroes of Fortunia public test version!
Version 0.7.0 Public Testing & Future Plans
It has been a little over a year since Heroes of Fortunia first entered Early Access in April 2019. Since that time, we have been eager in working with the players by collecting feedback, both in-game and through other channels (community forums, Discord, surveys, ...) in order to make Heroes of Fortunia into the best version it can be.
In late 2019, we've stopped collecting new feedback and started devising a plan in order to realize the most requested features and improvements without delaying development too much. Over the last couple of months, we've been busy rebuilding core parts of the game in order to accommodate some of the new features that are to come.
We're still a long way from finishing 0.7.0, but we've felt that you've waited more than enough for a new version. The problem is, 0.7.0 in its current state is not fit for public release, as many things are still disconnected from each other or just outright don't work yet, this includes past features since many things are being redone entirely. Essentially, 0.7.0 is going to be like a new game.
The solution we've come up with is to create a separate "Public Testing" version of Heroes of Fortunia. This is different from Early Access in such a way that things change rapidly and drastically on a frequent basis. This does not only include features and game content, but also the economy, that is player currency, inventory, etc. since we are actively working on both the game and the server.
We're planning to enter 0.7.0 into public testing on August 2nd, and we'll make a separate announcement that day with instructions detailing how to participate.
The full 0.7.0 update is expected to enter proper Early Access later this summer, and you'll be able to track live development process in the public testing version. Finally, we'd like to give you a rundown of our currently planned timeline, and some of the features you'll be able to expect in the future:
0.7.0 (summer 2020)
Complete revamp of internal systems & server architecture
Complete UI redesign
Removal of Overtime
Removal of casual play until 0.8.0
Complete revamp of currency, store & component acquisition (no more lootboxes)
Component crafting temporarily removed until armory introduction in 0.8.0
0.8.0 (late 2020 / early 2021)
Introduction of items for your heroes & crafting
Introduction of component upgrades
Introduction of new armory (includes store, collection, crafting menus, etc.)
Introduction of "creative mode" as the replacement for casual play
Introduction of player leveling
Complete hero redesign of the three major heroes (visual + abilities)
0.9.0 (early/mid 2021)
Last big update before final release
Introduction of guilds
Introduction of tutorial for new players
Introduction of story mode
Note that this list only includes the biggest changes that are to come, and does not take into account smaller features. Note also that this list is not final, and items may be (re)moved and added later on during development. We will make separate announcements for the upcoming updates when the time has come, in order to elaborate some more on the new features that are listed here.
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those of you who have submitted extensive feedback, as most of the features we are currently working on, and planning to work on, have been inspired by you. We're looking forward to seeing you once public testing commences!
Heroes of Fortunia's Next Update & More
Hey everyone,
it's been a while since Heroes of Fortunia has received a major update, and there's a reason for that.
But first, we need to make a slightly related announcement which is that we will be performing some internal reorganization in regards to server storage within the coming days, in order to improve accessibility, speed & security. This means that between now and January 22nd, you may experience sporadic maintenance breaks & outages (depending on where you live). We'd like to apologize for the inconvenience in advance and thank you for your understanding.
Now, back to the regularly scheduled news. It's been no secret that the launch of Heroes of Fortunia into early access had its ups and downs. This is something that was to be expected, as it is a game very early in development, though it quickly became quite clear that the gripes most players had with the game were related to core mechanics that couldn't simply be changed with a quick update.
The feedback we've received through the various channels made it quite clear of which mechanics you like, which mechanics you dislike, and features you are still missing. Therefore, we made the decision to pretty much start development all over by rebuilding those core parts in the game which you feel are lacking, in order to try and have a fresh start.
This has been going on since fall 2019 and is still very much work in progress. Do keep in mind that the original development for Heroes of Fortunia, from the very beginning towards the barebones early access version you got to experience in April 2019, took about 1 year and 8 months to produce, so rebuilding most of that will take quite some time as well.
However, we do believe that this is a worthwhile investment to make, as we believe that together with your help we can make Heroes of Fortunia the game it was always meant to be.
If you are more curious about what it is that we are doing to rework the game, feel free to join the community-run discord server for Heroes of Fortunia, where we are able to communicate more directly and immediately with you: https://discord.gg/bwdT2S5
However, here is a quick summary:
Talent levels for player profiles, allowing you to make your dungeon & heroes stronger.
Items for heroes that can be collected in the shop & during attack mode, which can either provide passive buffs during attack, or act as one-off consumable skill buttons.
Removal of dungeon-publishing, and have publishing be done automatically instead.
Real-time multiplayer functionality.
Guilds.
Automatic dungeon-publishing and the inclusion of items is basically what is prompting this huge workload, as the first requires a complete new system to be built, and the latter requires a complete revamp of the existing combat system in order to accommodate for it.
We would like to take this moment to thank you for your continued feedback. You are what keeps the ball rolling, and what keeps the development on the right track. Thank you for that.
OVERTIME! - Version 0.6.8 is now live!
Heroes of Fortunia version 0.6.8 is now live. Please update your game to the latest version in order to keep playing.
This update brings some big gameplay changes in attack & publish mode, so be sure to update your dungeon in order to accommodate for these changes.
Attack Changes & Overtime
The timer in ranked & casual mode now runs out based on the publish time of the player you're attacking. Once the timer runs out, the game will enter Overtime Mode for another 30 seconds - 2 minutes depending on the publish time.
Once overtime hits, the screen begins flashing and the music changes. All enemies' maximum health and your own maximum health is reduced by 50%, and certain traps will stop working in order to speed up gameplay. Below you will find a list of traps that are affected:
B.O.U.L.D.E.R.: Automatically drops upon the start of overtime.
Freezing Tower: Completely deactivated during overtime.
Electric Fence: Completely deactivated during overtime.
Defense Gate: Automatically opens upon the start of overtime, and will no longer close during overtime.
When overtime expires, you immediately die akin to the concede function.
In addition to the timer changes, we've now added out-of-combat health & mana regeneration, in order to make dungeons less punishing for a few mistakes, and to allow longer dungeons to be built & completed in a reasonable manner.
Attack Rewards & Golden Heroes
We've changed the way attack rewards work for 0.6.8. Instead of receiving 75 gold after each successful attack, you will now receive 50 gold. However, rewards are no longer capped on a daily basis, but instead now follow the season reset pattern. The amount of gold you can receive uncapped during a season hasn't changed, but you are now 100% in charge of when you do your attacks, instead of being forced to complete a set amount each day to avoid missing out on gold.
We've also introduced golden heroes as a reward for the most dedicated ranked attackers. In order to unlock a golden hero, you will need to win 500 ranked attacks with said hero. The golden variant will replace their default skin for you permanently.
Other Changes
Freezing Tower: Increased placement box size.
Flaming Exhaust: Reduced the hitbox size of the flame projectiles.
The Electro Knight enters the dungeon - Version 0.6.7 is now live!
Hey everyone,
it's been a while since the last update and unfortunately the recent heat wave in Europe has adversely affected our ability to work on the game, but things are back to normal (for now) and we are back on track!
Today we are finally bringing you the very first alternate hero in the form of the Electro Knight, as well as some other miscellaneous features and gameplay improvements.
New Content
The Electro Knight has entered the dungeon as the first alternate hero! More info on what he does and how to get him below.
You can now dissolve components you don't want for some extra elixir. Gone are the days of having to scour through hundreds of chests to get the components or the elixir you need.
We've overhauled the character selection screen to allow you to pick different hero skins, and to make it a bit prettier overall.
We've added support for special offers & promotions through the game's shop. More info below.
Electro Knight
As mentioned before, the Electro Knight is Heroes of Fortunia's first alternate hero. He plays exactly the same as the Knight, but has a different color and his abilities have an electric flair.
You can get the Electro Knight plus 40 chests as part of a special promotion right now. This offer will only be valid through Sunday, after which the Electro Knight will enter the personal offers rotation. More info on personal offers below.
Special Offers
From now on, special offers will appear in your shop every now and again, and the game will notify you whether that's the case. Special offers are split into two categories: Seasonal offers and personal offers.
Seasonal offers are available for everyone and are usually one-time purchases. The Molten Fort theme for example is now a seasonal offer, which is valid until the game's full release. Note that in-game, the reference date for the Molten Fort offer is December 31st 2019, but the game's release may possibly happen before that date, and thus the offer may expire earlier also.
Personal offers are different for every player and follow the same timer as the dungeon challenge. Every Wednesday morning, you are allocated a new personal offer which you are able to buy until the next Monday morning. Some personal offers are one-time purchases, while others have the option to reappear in your shop. These are often value packs of chests and/or elixir at a discount, but can also be something else like an alternate hero or a dungeon theme.
Hero/Component Changes
All Heroes:
Mobility skills & other knockback now properly scale with haste.
Components:
Freezing Tower: Reduced time frozen from 2.5s -> 2s.
Other Changes
Epic components are now guaranteed to be looted once every 10 chests (was 20), and are statistically expected once every 5 chests (was 10).
Adjusted some visual elements of the Molten Fort theme.
Fixed an issue that would cause knockback to behave differently depending on frame rate.
Friendly Attacks - Version 0.6.6 is now live!
Heroes of Fortunia version 0.6.6 is now live. Please update your game to the latest version in order to keep playing.
Below you will find a list of all changes:
New Features
We've finally added a friends list to the social tab of the game, that gives you the opportunity to interact with the friends you've made on Steam.
You can now invite your friends to attack your currently published dungeon.
You can now spectate your friends' attacks if they're in a ranked, casual or challenge attack.
Some projectiles that fly in an arc now have a landing radius indicator.
Hero/Component Changes
Freezing Tower: Freeze time reduced from 3s -> 2.5s
Electro Wraith: Attack speed reduced by 20%
Hungering Scarecrow: Attack reduced from 4 -> 1, health increased from 41 -> 47
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue that would cause various projectiles to be rendered incorrectly in replays only.
Improved the way spike traps behave in replays.
Please do let us know what you think of these changes either via the Steam community forums or the in-game feedback form. It's only a matter of time before Guilds are added into the game now!
Hotfix update 0.6.5 is now live.
The recent update for Heroes of Fortunia, version 0.6.5 is now live. Please update your game to the latest version to continue playing.
All changes
Fixed an issue that would cause the Poison Arrow Trap to behave incorrectly in replays only.
Fixed a visual issue that would cause Project L.O.G. to sometimes dip into the ground in edit mode.
Fixed an issue that would allow heroes to negate all knockback in some circumstances.
Knockback from traps no longer prevents hero skills from being cast.
Version 0.6.4 is now live!
Heroes of Fortunia version 0.6.4 is now live. This update brings some more balance changes, as well as a few new traps to the game. Please update your installation to the latest version in order to continue playing.
Replays recorded on 0.6.3 and below are still compatible with 0.6.4.
New Components
Poison Arrow Trap: New rare trap.
Flaming Exhaust: New rare trap.
Freezing Tower: New rare trap.
Project L.O.G.: New legendary trap.
Hero/Component Changes
Knight:
Magma Shield: Duration increased from 6s -> 8s, cooldown increased from 10s -> 14s
Radiant Dash: Cooldown reduced from 6s -> 5s
The Knight has been the second most popular hero in ranked since the beginning of time, but his win rate after the recent minion buffs has been less than stellar. These changes should make him a bit more mobile, and allow him to combat low but sustained damage a bit better, at the cost of not being able to withstand so much burst damage anymore.
Archer:
Shadowstep: Cooldown reduced from 3s -> 1.5s
The most popular pick in both ranked and casual, but the hero with the worst win rate up until now. This small change should allow the Archer to leverage the invulnerability granted by Shadowstep a bit more, especially in trap "cages", as he doesn't have any other form of damage mitigation.
Components:
All Minions: Line of sight requirement increased from 40 units -> 42 units (now require enough space for a hero to fit through)
Electric Fence: Slowness duration reduced from 6s -> 3s
Electro Reaper: Health reduced from 36 -> 27, slowness duration increased from 3s -> 6s
Haunted Tomb: Defense rating increased from 9 -> 10
Protection Tower: Defense rating reduced from 7 -> 6
M.B. Factory-3: Defense rating increased from 6 -> 7, mini-B.O.U.L.D.E.R. lifetime reduced from 20s -> 12s (now covers around 1 room)
The Electric Fence has been the pinnacle of many defenses for a long time now. The nerf to its slowness duration and the buff to Electro Reaper should make the decision between the two of them less obvious in certain scenarios, and it will also make the Electro Reaper a more favorable pick in combination with the new traps that were added.
Other Changes
Minions are now more likely to try and walk through haste fences if they're on the way to the enemy hero, even if another path is potentially shorter.
We've made some visual adjustments and increased the overall brightness of the Molten Fort theme & its associated traps.
Regular ranked & casual attacks no longer award elixir.
Dungeon challenge rewards are now more varied, with some awarding more gold than others, and elixir has been added to the reward pool to make up for the aforementioned change.
Balance Update - Version 0.6.3 is now live!
The aforementioned balance update, version 0.6.3, is now live. In addition to the balance changes, we've also made some other miscellaneous changes and quality of life improvements. Below you will find a full list of changes.
Replays recorded on version 0.6.2 are still compatible with version 0.6.3.
Balance Changes
Rat Grunt (Poisonous): Health reduced from 7 -> 3
Reaper: Health increased from 15 -> 26
Cyclops Wizard: Health increased from 20 -> 32
Speedy Rat: Defense rating increased from 4 -> 5, attack increased from 1 -> 2
Shadow Rat: Health reduced from 15 -> 11
Holy Wizard: Defense rating increased from 6 -> 7, health increased from 16 -> 21
Night Prowler: Health increased from 12 -> 15, attack increased from 2 -> 4
Ravaging Hound: Defense rating reduced from 6 -> 5, health increased from 18 -> 22
Shadow Wizard: Health increased from 35 -> 68
Freezing Treant: Attack increased from 2 -> 3, health increased from 7 -> 8
Speedy Treant: Defense rating increased from 3 -> 4, attack increased from 2 -> 3
Wraith Mage: Health increased from 25 -> 39
Electro Wraith: Health increased from 30 -> 48
Big Brute: Health increased from 45 -> 59
Burly Brute: Health increased from 60 -> 66
Peaceful Brute: Defense rating increased from 5 -> 6, health increased from 50 -> 52
Dagron the Undying: Health increased from 290 -> 364
Alarming Hound: Movement speed reduced from 250 -> 200, attack reduced from 2 -> 1, health increased from 12 -> 15
Ghost: Health increased from 8 -> 9
Arms of the Damned: Health reduced from 10 -> 6
Gloom Hound: Defense rating reduced from 3 -> 2, health increased from 1 -> 2
Unholy Defender: Health increased from 1 -> 9, bond is now limited to up to 20 seconds.
Marok, the Summoner: Health increased from 310 -> 353
Electro Reaper: Health increased from 20 -> 36
Venomous Spiderling: Defense rating increased from 3 -> 4
Herald of Marok: Health reduced from 12 -> 11
Copycat Scarecrow: Health increased from 12 -> 14
Hungering Scarecrow: Attack increased from 3 -> 4, health increased from 21 -> 41
Exploding Scarecrow: Defense rating reduced from 5 -> 4, health increased from 9 -> 10
Venomous Viper: Health increased from 15 -> 27
Fiery Serpent: Health increased from 35 -> 54
Venomous Broodmother: Defense rating increased from 6 -> 7, health increased from 18 -> 25
Immunity Tower: Now called "Protection Tower". Damage reduction reduced from 90% -> 40%, reduced placement box size, defense rating reduced from 8 -> 7
Other Hero/Component Changes
Heroes will now always turn towards the mouse cursor when performing an aimed skill (e.g. mobility skill, Archer shots). This change was made due to technical reasons, in order to prepare for a future feature.
Copycat Scarecrow: Will no longer successfully copy a minion if the copy cannot fit in the current position.
Other Changes
We've made various connection improvements to the game to ensure that even players with unstable connections will have a smooth experience. If you've had connection issues before, we're hoping that this update will have addressed them once and for all.
We've included a crash reporter that will show up if your game crashes, and it will give you the opportunity to share some information with us that will help us track down the issue. Submitting crash information is entirely optional, and any submitted crash information is subject to our privacy policy
We've changed the way the placement boxes are rendered in edit mode, and also added a toggle in the options menu for you to enable a visual grid, so you can fine tune your dungeon to perfection!
Increased the area in which hideable components will become invisible when close to the camera.
Improved the rendering performance of the mini-B.O.U.L.D.E.R.s
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused mobility skills to behave incorrectly in replays only.
Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause big-bodied enemies (such as bosses) to get stuck on the Molten Fort's ceiling lamps.
Fixed a visual issue that would cause the haste fence to apply haste to minions in edit mode.
Please do let us know how you feel about the changes we've made either via the in-game feedback form or the Steam community forums.
The next update will finally bring the long-awaited friendly attacks to the game, as well as friendly spectating, so stay tuned for that!
Balance Update Approaching!
After the recent introduction of line of sight and the nerf to many popular setups, it is now time for us to level the playing field by increasing minion strength across the board.
For this, we have devised an early balancing plan we are applying to all minions in the game, meaning that most of them are likely to change in some way.
Note that these changes are not live yet. They will be published after the season reset, on Tuesday June 4, 2019.
Balance Changes
Rat Grunt (Poisonous): Health reduced from 7 -> 3
Reaper: Health increased from 15 -> 26
Cyclops Wizard: Health increased from 20 -> 32
Speedy Rat: Defense rating increased from 4 -> 5, attack increased from 1 -> 2
Shadow Rat: Health reduced from 15 -> 11
Holy Wizard: Defense rating increased from 6 -> 7, health increased from 16 -> 21
Night Prowler: Health increased from 12 -> 15, attack increased from 2 -> 4
Ravaging Hound: Defense rating reduced from 6 -> 5, health increased from 18 -> 22
Shadow Wizard: Health increased from 35 -> 68
Freezing Treant: Attack increased from 2 -> 3, health increased from 7 -> 8
Speedy Treant: Defense rating increased from 3 -> 4, attack increased from 2 -> 3
Wraith Mage: Health increased from 25 -> 39
Electro Wraith: Health increased from 30 -> 48
Big Brute: Health increased from 45 -> 59
Burly Brute: Health increased from 60 -> 66
Peaceful Brute: Defense rating increased from 5 -> 6, health increased from 50 -> 52
Dagron the Undying: Health increased from 290 -> 364
Alarming Hound: Movement speed reduced from 250 -> 200, attack reduced from 2 -> 1, health increased from 12 -> 15
Ghost: Health increased from 8 -> 9
Arms of the Damned: Health reduced from 10 -> 6
Gloom Hound: Defense rating reduced from 3 -> 2, health increased from 1 -> 2
Unholy Defender: Health increased from 1 -> 9, bond is now limited to up to 20 seconds.
Marok, the Summoner: Health increased from 310 -> 353
Electro Reaper: Health increased from 20 -> 36
Venomous Spiderling: Defense rating increased from 3 -> 4
Herald of Marok: Health reduced from 12 -> 11
Copycat Scarecrow: Health increased from 12 -> 14
Hungering Scarecrow: Attack increased from 3 -> 4, health increased from 21 -> 41
Exploding Scarecrow: Defense rating reduced from 5 -> 4, health increased from 9 -> 10
Venomous Viper: Health increased from 15 -> 27
Fiery Serpent: Health increased from 35 -> 54
Venomous Broodmother: Defense rating increased from 6 -> 7, health increased from 18 -> 25
Some of these changes are still subject to change until the patch goes live. We will post a final list of all changes once that happens.
